By: Barbara Jane Reyes

Barbara Jane Reyes — Tue, 29 May 2012 20:26:16 +0000

Hi Heather, How great to hear from you! Yes, I feel you entirely on this. I write posts like this, of course, to remind myself what’s important when all those external superficial things get in my way. I have to remind myself what I believe is important, and think about whether or not I am working in that vein, rather than trying to impress and please others. Surely, I still welcome any kind of literary success, but even then, “success” can be many different things.

Thanks for your comment. Again, it’s great to hear from you!

By: Heather

Heather — Sun, 27 May 2012 16:21:38 +0000

Hi, Barbara Jane. Thank you so much for writing this inspiring post. I feel like I’ve inched down a hole since my book came out, and I haven’t been able to climb out of it, but I will keep your words with me to remember why I started writing in the first place. I often think to myself, “Agh, it’s been x years since my book came out” or “It’s been x years since I’ve published; I need to write.” And these are really not reasons to write. I used to write because there were certain ideas I could not express as I wanted unless I sat for 10 or more hours to revise and revise until I got it right. I used to write because I’d never read poems about some particular subject, and I wanted to write those poems. I used to write because I wanted to learn more about writing. Your blog post reminded me of all of this, so thank you.

Comments on: Literary Scene: Practicing Generosity Redux

By: Barbara Jane Reyes

By: Heather